Manufacture of cigarettes



Aug. 30, 1955 D. w. MOLINS ET AL MANUFACTURE OF CIGARETTES Filed Sept. 17, 1951 I/YVE/YTOR United States Patent MANUFACTURE oF CIGARETTES Desmond Walter Molins, Felix Frederic Ruau and Norman Walter Jackson, Deptford, London, England, as-

' signors to Molins Machine Company Limited, London,

England, a British company Application September 17, 1951, Serial No. 246,956

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 2, 1950 2 Claims. (Cl. 131-66) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to the manufacture of cigarettes, and has for its object to provide a method of and means for increasing the density of tobacco at desired positions along the length of awhich the tobacco at one or both ends is denser than elsewhere in the cigarette.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of increasing the density of tobacco at desired positions along the length of a tobacco filler, which methodconsists in engaging the filler at a part near each said position and displacing tobacco lengthwise of the filler, and also engaging tobacco near each said part and displacing a smaller quantity of tobacco than that displaced by the first said displacement, in the same direction as that of the first said displacement so as partially to replace tobacco displaced by the first said displacement.

.By this method a somewhat gradual densification of tobacco in the region of each desired position can be effected, and this can be made more gradual by the further step of efiecting one or more similar successive and progressively smaller displacements of tobacco, each of which partially replaces tobacco displaced by the preceding displacement, the said progressively smaller displacements of tobacco being effected by displacing in each successive case a smaller quantity of tobacco than. that displaced by the preceding displacement.

Further according to the present invention there is provided apparatus for increasing the density of tobacco at desired positions along the length of a tobacco filler, comprising means to engage the filler at a part near each said position and to move relatively to the filler so as to displace tobacco lengthwise of the filler, and means to. engage tobacco near each said part and moverelativ'ely to the filler in the same direction as the first said means and to displace a smaller quantity of tobacco in the same direction as that of the first said displacement so as partially to replace tobacco displaced by the first said means.

Further means may be provided to engage tobacco near that engaged by the second said means and to move relatively to the filler in the same direction as the second said means and to displace a still smaller quantity of tobacco in the same direction as that of the second said displacement so as partially to replace tobacco displaced by the second said means.

Further, according to the invention there is provided apparatus for increasing the density of tobacco at desired positions alon the length of a tobacco stream, comprising means to feed a tobacco stream lengthwise, an element adapted to enter the stream near each said position and to move in the same direction as but faster than the stream, while engaging tobacco so as to displace tobacco lengthwise of the stream, and a second element adapted to enter the stream behind the first said element and to move in the same direction as and faster than the stream (e. g. at the same speed as the first said element) and to enter less deeply into the stream than the first said element so as to displace a smaller quantity of tobacco behind the tobacco displaced by the first said element and thereby partially replace the last-mentioned tobacco.

I The apparatus may also comprise one or more further elements adapted to move into the stream behind the first and second said elements and to enter the stream less deeply, or in the case of more than one further element progressively less deeply than the second said element so as to displace-a still smaller quantity or progressively smaller quantities of: tobacco lengthwise of the stream, the whole arrangement being such that tobacco displaced by one element is partially replaced by tobacco displaced by a succeeding element.

The said elements may consist of fingers on a rotatable member and arranged so that on rotation of the said member each finger in turn enters the stream of tobacco, each of the said fingers, other than the first to enter the stream, being shorter than the finger which immediately precedes it.

Apparatus according to the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section of part of the rod forming devices of a cigarette making machine. Figure 2 is a section of Figure l on the line 22.

A continuous stream or filler of unwrapped tobacco is formed on a continuous rod cigarette machine, in the manner described in U. S. Patent No. 2,671,452, granted November 25, 1953, the filler being formed in the passage.

generally indicated in Figure 1 by the letter P, and is fed lengthwise on to a continuous paper web 1, which receives the filler from the passage and carries it forwardly in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 1, beneath the usual tongue 2. The tobacco filler then has the paper web folded and secured about it in the usual manner so as to form a continuous cigarette rod which is to be cut at desired intervals to form cigarettes.

'In the manufacture of cigarettes it is desirable to ensure that the portions of the rod at which cutting takes place are firm and well filled, so as to enable the cigarettes to have firm and cleanly cut ends; For this purpose it has previously been proposed to provide a continuous rod in which the tobacco is'denser at the portions which are to be cut than elsewhere. This is accomplished according to the present invention by the apparatus about to be described. v

Locatedabove the tongue 2 (which is slotted as shown) and above the paper web on which the tobacco stream or filler is carried beneath the tongue, is a rotatable wheel 3 which carries a number of radial fingers 4A to 4D which constitute tobacco-engaging elements. The wheel 3 is so arranged that as it rotates, the fingers, which are spaced around the wheel move into the slot in the tongue and enter the tobacco stream one after another, and move a short distance in engagement with tobacco in the stream, their movement being in the same direction as but faster than the stream.

Four groups, each consisting of four fingers, 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D, are provided on the wheel 3, the four groups being equally spaced about the wheel. The wheel 3 is so timed and is rotated at such a speed relative to the speed of the tobacco stream that each group of fingers enters the stream in the region of the position in the stream at which it is desired to increase the density of the tobacco. Normally these positions would be a cigarette-length apart, so that each cigarette would have denser tobacco at both ends. that only one end of a cigarette should contain denser tobacco, these positions could be spaced apart by a distance equal to double the length of a cigarette.

The fingers of each group are all of difierent lengths, the leading finger 4A being the longest and each succeeding finger 4B, 4C and 4D respectively being a little shorter than the one which precedes it. Thus it will be seen that as the fingers of a group enter the tobacco stream one after another, each finger in turn penetrates a little less deeply into the stream than does the preceding finger.

The leading finger 4A of a group enters the stream and engages tobacco near and behind a position at which it is desired to increase the density, and since it is moving faster than the stream, etfects a lengthwise forward displacement of the tobacco in the stream. This causes a local endwise compacting of the stream with the result that the density of the tobacco is increased at the desired position in the stream. This displacement of tobacco, however, reduces the density of the stream at the region from which the tobacco is displaced. In order to compensate for this local reduction in density, the next finger 4B in the group is arranged to enter the stream behind the region of reduced density, and by moving forward faster than the stream displaces a further but smaller quantity of tobacco which partly replaces the tobacco displaced by the leading finger. The replacement is only partial because as the second finger is shorter than the leading finger and penetrates less deeply into the stream, the amount of tobacco displaced is less than that displaced by the leading finger. The third finger, 4C, which is still shorter, operates in the same Way to effect a partial replacement of the tobacco displaced by the second finger, and the fourth finger 4D displaces a still smaller quantity of tobacco in the same way.

In this way the density of the stream is increased by a desired amount as a chosen position in the stream, and is gradually reduced by means of a series of smaller compensating displacements of decreasing amounts of tobacco in order to avoid an undesirable sparseness in the region immediately behind the densest portion.

The four groups of fingers are suitably spaced apart about the wheel so as to leave a short length of the stream undisturbed after the last finger of a group has left the stream and before the leading finger of the next group enters it. This is to enable the leading finger to effect the maximum densification of the stream by displacing tobacco forwardly towards a part of the stream which is already of normal density. If no gap were left between two groups of fingers, the tobacco displaced by the leading finger would be moved into a portion of the stream whose density has been slightly reduced by the last finger of the preceding group.

It will be understood that any convenient number of fingers could be used, but the present construction in which four fingers are employed is found to give good results.

If however, it is desired The tobacco stream moves under the smaller end of the tongue 2 immediately after the operations described above, and the gradually increasing lateral compression given to the stream by the tongue causes some backward pressure in the tobacco stream which results in some endwise compacting along the whole length of the stream. It is thought that such general endwise compacting may be effective to smooth out any sharp differences in density between the four regions operated on respectively by the four fingers, so as to make the reduction from high to low density more gradual and even.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for increasing the density of tobacco at desired positions along the length of a tobacco stream, comprising means to feed a tobacco stream lengthwise, a rotatable member positioned adjacent said stream, a finger mounted on said member for movement into the stream near each said position, and in the same direction as but faster than the stream, while engaging tobacco. so as to displace tobacco lengthwise of the stream, and' a second finger mounted on said member for movement into the stream behind the first said finger and in the same direction as and faster than the stream, said second finger being shorter than the first said finger so as to enter less deeply into the stream than the first said finger and thereby displace a smaller quantity of tobacco behind the tobacco displaced by the first said finger and partially fill the space occupied by the last mentioned tobacco.

2. Apparatus for increasing the density of tobacco at desired positions along the length of a tobacco stream, comprising means to feed a tobacco stream lengthwise, a rotatable member positioned adjacent said stream, tobacco engaging elements on the periphery of said rotat-' able member, and means to rotate the said member so that each of said elements in turn enters the said stream while moving in the same direction as but faster than the stream, to displace tobacco lengthwise of the stream, wherein the free ends of each of the said elements, other than the first to enter the stream, is nearer to the center of rotation of said member than is the element immediately preceding it, so as to enter less deeply into the stream than the element immediately preceding it.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,800 Bronander Aug. 2, 1927 1,721,117 Hopkins July 16, 1929 1,920,708 Molins Aug. 1, 1933 2,111,672 Molins Mar. 22, 1938 2,689,574 Molins et a1. Sept. 21, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 128,644 Germany Feb. 27, 1902 132,374 Germany July 2, 1902 552,225 Germany June 13, 1932 

